Lebanese Foreign Minister Jean Obeid met here today with Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam and discussed with him the developments in the Palestinian arena and the aggressive actions carried out by Israel against the Palestinian people.
A presidential statement mentioned that Obeid and Khaddam emphasized during the meeting the importance of enhancing Palestinian unity to achieve Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Palestinian territories.
The Palestinian territories are currently witnessing a critical juncture threatening to undermine peace efforts amid Israeli escalation against the Palestinian people, including the assassination attempt on the spiritual leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, as well as the resignation submitted by Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas yesterday to Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, which was accepted.
The presidential statement also noted that Obeid and Khaddam discussed during their meeting the situation in Iraq, its repercussions, and the need to support the Iraqi people in regaining sovereignty, achieving the withdrawal of foreign forces, establishing a constitution, and conducting free elections that enable the Iraqi people to determine their future.
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister arrived in Damascus this morning on a surprise visit as part of Lebanese-Syrian communications regarding developments in the region.
It is worth noting that Syrian Vice President returned to Damascus last night after concluding an official visit to Yemen, during which he met with President Ali Abdullah Saleh and delivered a message from his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad regarding the situations and developments in the Arab region.
Khaddam’s visit to Sanaa came following a new initiative proposed by Yemen to establish an alternative Arab union to the Arab League.
